mounting pickups in a bass 6 body

[misterfinn]

apologies if my search fu has failed me.

i'm installing roadhouse pickups into a warmoth bass 6 body. ken helpfully provided mounting foam and mounting screws with the pickups. i had to file out the pickguard to fit the pickup cover shape, which was no big deal.

the big deal was the puzzling way that warmoth routed the bottom of the body cavity. as shown in the photo, there are holes beneath the screw mounting points for the bridge and middle pickups.

i initially decided to leave the screws out and just use the mounting foam. the foam kept the ears of the pickup snug against the inner surface of the pickguard. the problem then became that the pickups were 2-3 mm too far from the strings. to get decent spacing, i'll have to rout out the pickup holes even further, ignore the foam, and use the screws.

my search for longer screws has come up empty. i don't have the tools to make proper plugs for the holes. my experiment with using little wooden blocks did not end well. any insights? thank you in advance.

 

[bagman67]

Could we see a photo of a pickup and how it looks when mounted in the pickguard?  Top and side views (i.e., with the edge of the pickguard toward the camera) would help.

 

[Neo Fender]

Can't you forego the foam on the bottom of the pickup(s) and use springs instead? (thread screw through pickguard, place spring [or surgical tubing cut to length] over screw, thread screw into the pickup ear).  I can't imagine the screw having to be long at all.

 

[bagman67]

That's what I'm thinking, also, but I'd sure like a concrete visual of what the problem is besides the intended install site.

 

[misterfinn]

do these help?

the issue is that the pickup needs to come further up through the pickguard. i routed the pickguard holes all the way around the ears to allow mounting closer to the strings. apologies, at the moment i don't have a photo to show you.

screws and tubes/springs would be fabulous, i just can't find screws long enough to go through the ears all the way down into those weird holes in the bottom of the cavity. the neck pickup mounts on the provided screws and some tubing just fine - no holes there.

 

[bagman67]

Ah, I see.


You don't actually need longer screws, if I understand what you're trying to do.  YOu just keep tightening them to draw the pickups further through the pickguard.  Eventually you'll run out of threading on the screws, but at that point the ears will have come hard up against the bottom side of the pickguard.  If you can't get them up high enough, and you're using springs or surgical tubing, you want shorter springs or surgical tubing.

 

[Cagey]

Those look like Jaguar pickups, which are normally not trapeze- or hanger-mounted. You stuff expandable foam under them, then drive screws down into the body. The pickup starts out high, and you adjust it downward from there by driving the mounting screws in. If that's true, it means the pickguard's pickup openings are routed wrong. But, I could be mistaken. On the other hand, it would explain why they won't rise high enough. Pickguard's in the way. See here...

 

[misterfinn]

Those look like Jaguar pickups, which are normally not trapeze- or hanger-mounted. You stuff expandable foam under them, then drive screws down into the body. The pickup starts out high, and you adjust it downward from there by driving the mounting screws in. If that's true, it means the pickguard's pickup openings are routed wrong. But, I could be mistaken. On the other hand, it would explain why they won't rise high enough. Pickguard's in the way.

yeah, ken makes his bass 6 pickups like the jags. warmoth routs their pickguards for strats. so i had to do some amateurish filing.

more pictures here. cagey is quite right that the pickups wouldn't rise high enough, so i cut more of the pickguard away (photo 1). i then mounted the neck pickup to the body with the supplied p-90 style pickup screw and some surgical tubing (photo 2). the bridge and neck pickups have ~1/2" deep holes where the screws should go (photo 3) that's my problem.

thanks for your patience. i'm still getting the hang of this.

*edit* pickups _like_ the jags.

 

[bagman67]

Ah, I see.  My advice is useless.  I am ignorant in the ways of Bass VI's.

 

[Cagey]

the bridge and neck pickups have ~1/2" deep holes where the screws should go (photo 3) that's my problem.

Last time I fought with a Jaguar, I think I just used dowel to fill those holes. 1/2"? I don't remember. Anyway, it doesn't matter that it won't fill the hole; you're just looking for something to run a screw into. Cut the fillers to length, get some 5-minute epoxy to hold them in and you should be golden. Epoxy is pretty strong stuff. Your pickups will never move.

 

[misterfinn]

roger that. thanks everyone for your help.

 

[TroubledTreble]

I just came across this thread.

Sorry that you were having issues. Warmoth does not make their Bass VI like most people apparently. Until this came up I was not even aware. Is there a historical Bass VI model that does this that I'm not aware of too??? Why did W build theirs this way?  :icon_scratch:

As you found out the entire pickup cover needs to stick through the cover or it won't be close enough to the strings. In classic Fender style they used parts they had around hence why they used Jag pups on the BassVI. So they  mount up the same way.

In the future please feel to contact me if you need help, longer screws or extra screws if you break/loose one. Those can be a pain to find. I'm always here to help customers get their projects together.

Here is a nice sample: